Texas

Pianist's Estranged Wife Indicted in Daughters' Deaths

Sofya Tsygankova, the estranged wife of Ukranian-born pianist Vladmyr Kholodenko, is accused of suffocating the couple's two young children with pillows

The estranged wife of an internationally known pianist has been indicted in North Texas on capital murder charges in the deaths of the couple's two young daughters.

The indictments accuse Sofya Tsygankova of suffocating 1-year-old Michaela Kholodenko and 5-year-old Nika Kholodenko with pillows March 17 at her home in suburban Benbrook, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

The 32-year-old estranged wife of pianist Vadym Kholodenko pleaded not guilty to the charges and is jailed with bond set at $2 million. Her attorney has declined comment on the specific allegations.

A friend of Tsygankova's sister said Kholodenko and Tsygankova had been through a divorce and that Tsygankova was having a difficult time coping.

Tsygankova allegedly told police after her arrest "she didn't want to live" and "didn't see any future" for her or her children. 

Kholodenko, a Ukrainian-born winner of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, discovered his daughters' bodies when he arrived at the home the girls shared with their mother to take them to school.

He told investigators he found his wife "going crazy" in a blood-covered night gown and the children "in bed, and not moving," according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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